Most pet emergencies are not scheduled.
They happen at night.
On a Sunday.
While travelling.
When your usual veterinary practice is closed.
Or when somebody else is looking after your pet.
At that moment, the last thing you want to be doing is searching through emails for an emergency number, trying to remember the name of a medication or wondering which veterinary hospital is open.
Emergency preparation cannot prevent an accident or illness.
But it can remove unnecessary confusion when your pet needs help quickly.
The most useful emergency plan is not complicated.
You need to know:
Who to call.
Where to go.
How to get there.
What your pet's veterinary team needs to know.
And where that information is stored.
RCVS guidance specifically recommends that guardians plan ahead by understanding their veterinary practice's out-of-hours arrangements, saving the emergency contact details, planning transport and keeping important records accessible.
Key takeaways
- Save your regular veterinarian and emergency veterinary provider in your phone before an emergency happens.
- Know the address of the emergency clinic and how you would transport your pet there.
- Keep an emergency summary for every individual pet.
- Make current medication, important diagnoses and known adverse reactions easy to find.
- Keep microchip and insurance information accessible where relevant.
- Make sure anyone caring for your pet knows how to access the emergency information.
- Severe breathing problems, unresponsiveness, significant trauma, uncontrolled bleeding, seizures and sudden profound weakness are among signs that warrant urgent veterinary attention.
- If poisoning is suspected, contact a veterinarian or appropriate animal poison service promptly rather than trying home remedies.
- Do not allow an app, article or AI assistant to delay emergency veterinary care.
What information should every pet guardian keep ready?
Your emergency information should answer the most important questions quickly.
It does not need to reproduce your pet's entire medical record.
Think of it as an emergency front page.
A useful profile can include:
Pet identification
- Pet's name
- Species
- Breed or type
- Sex
- Age/date of birth
- Recent photograph
- Weight, where known
- Microchip number, where relevant
Veterinary contacts
- Primary veterinary practice
- Regular veterinarian, if relevant
- Out-of-hours/emergency provider
- Emergency phone number
- Emergency clinic address
- Specialist contact, where relevant
Important medical information
- Significant current diagnoses
- Current medications
- Known allergies
- Previous important adverse drug reactions
- Recent surgery or hospitalisation
- Relevant ongoing treatment
Administrative information
- Guardian contact details
- Alternative emergency contact
- Insurance provider
- Policy number
- Relevant travel or identification documents
This information should be available for each pet individually.
1. Know who provides emergency veterinary care
Do not assume that your normal veterinary clinic remains open overnight.
Emergency arrangements differ.
A practice might:
- provide its own 24-hour service;
- share emergency cover with another clinic;
- direct clients to a specialist emergency hospital;
- or use another approved out-of-hours arrangement.
In the UK, veterinary practices must ensure that 24-hour emergency first aid and pain relief are available, but the service may be delivered by another provider. RCVS therefore advises guardians to ask exactly how their own practice's arrangement works.
Wherever you live, ask your practice:
Who should I call when you are closed?
Where would I need to go?
Is the emergency facility at the same address?
Do I need to telephone before arriving?
Record the answers now.
2. Save the emergency number in your phone
Do not rely solely on:
- a website bookmark;
- Google search;
- an old business card;
- or a number stuck to the refrigerator.
Save it in your phone.
A useful contact name might be:
EMERGENCY VET — Luna
or:
24-HOUR VET — Greenfield Emergency Hospital
If you have more than one pet and they use different providers, make that distinction clear.
For example, the emergency service appropriate for a horse may be completely different from the clinic that treats the household cat.
3. Save the emergency clinic address too
Knowing the phone number is not enough.
Keep the:
- clinic name;
- full address;
- telephone number;
- and, where useful, map location
together.
RCVS notes that guardians are generally responsible for transporting companion animals to the emergency provider, while large-animal emergency arrangements can work differently.
That makes transport part of the emergency plan.
4. Plan how you would get your pet there
Ask yourself:
If my pet needed a veterinary hospital at 2 a.m., how would I get there?
Consider:
- whether you drive;
- who else could drive;
- whether a pet-friendly taxi is available;
- whether you have an appropriate carrier;
- how you would move a large or immobile dog;
- what arrangements apply for your horse;
- whether your exotic pet needs temperature-controlled transport.
Do not wait until an emergency to discover that your cat carrier is broken or that the emergency clinic is forty minutes away.
RCVS explicitly includes emergency transport planning among guardian responsibilities.
5. Keep your pet's current medication list ready
In an emergency, a veterinarian may need to know what your pet is taking now.
For every medication, keep:
- name;
- strength;
- dose;
- frequency;
- reason prescribed;
- last dose where relevant;
- prescribing veterinarian.
Include relevant supplements.
If you cannot remember the exact information, packaging or clear photographs of prescription labels can help.
Do not rely on descriptions such as:
“a heart tablet twice a day.”
Emergency decisions often require more precise information.
6. Make allergies and adverse reactions highly visible
If your pet has a known or suspected significant reaction to a medication or other substance, do not bury it deep inside years of records.
Place it near the top of the emergency profile.
For example:
Adverse reaction: [Medication]
Reaction: [What occurred]
Date: [If known]
Veterinary advice: [Relevant information]
Do not use the record to independently decide which treatments a veterinarian should or should not give.
Its purpose is to make the history visible so the veterinary professional can assess it.
7. Record significant medical conditions
An emergency veterinarian may never have met your pet before.
They should be able to quickly identify important background conditions such as:
- epilepsy;
- diabetes;
- heart disease;
- kidney disease;
- endocrine disease;
- serious allergies;
- clotting disorders;
- previous major surgery;
- neurological disease;
- or another significant ongoing condition.
Do not try to summarise years of medical history into a self-written diagnosis.
Instead keep:
diagnosis → date → treating provider → current management
and link the original clinical documentation where available.
8. Keep recent major events easy to find
Sometimes the most relevant information is not a lifelong condition.
It is something that happened last week.
Make recent major events visible, for example:
- surgery;
- hospital discharge;
- medication change;
- diagnostic procedure;
- significant infection;
- recent trauma;
- pregnancy-related treatment;
- specialist assessment.
A simple emergency note might say:
Recent surgery: abdominal surgery, 25 August 2026
Hospital: Greenfield Veterinary Hospital
Current medication: [details]
Follow-up: 10 September 2026
That can immediately orient an unfamiliar veterinary team.
9. Keep your pet's microchip information accessible
For species where microchipping applies, keep:
- microchip number;
- relevant registry information;
- confirmation that guardian contact details are current.
The microchip itself usually identifies the animal through a unique number rather than storing the pet's full medical history.
Its value depends partly on the associated registration information being accurate.
If your telephone number or address changes, remember to update the appropriate registry.
Related guide: Pet Health Records: The Complete Guide for Every Pet Guardian
10. Keep insurance information where you can reach it
During an emergency, you may need:
- insurance company;
- policy number;
- claims contact;
- policy documents.
This does not mean insurance coverage should delay urgent veterinary treatment.
But having the information ready can reduce administrative confusion once the immediate clinical situation is being managed.
Emergency care can also be more expensive than routine appointments because of the staffing and facilities required for out-of-hours care. RCVS advises guardians to understand this and plan for emergency veterinary costs in advance.
11. Give another person access to the emergency information
Ask:
Could someone else manage an emergency if I were unavailable?
This matters if your pet is cared for by:
- a partner;
- family member;
- pet sitter;
- dog walker;
- boarding provider;
- neighbour;
- house sitter;
- stable manager;
- or another trusted person.
They should know:
- which veterinarian to call;
- the emergency provider;
- how to reach you;
- significant health conditions;
- current medication;
- and where the pet's documents are stored.
You may also want to clarify in advance what authority the person has to seek veterinary treatment if you cannot immediately be contacted.
The exact legal and payment implications vary by location and provider, so ask your veterinary practice how they prefer this to be documented.
Which symptoms can indicate a pet emergency?
No article can provide a complete list for every species.
And the urgency of a symptom depends on the individual animal and circumstances.
However, some signs should make guardians particularly concerned.
AAHA identifies several signs associated with potential veterinary emergencies, including severe breathing difficulty, repeated vomiting or diarrhoea, unresponsiveness, seizures, significant trauma or bleeding, sudden abdominal swelling, abnormal gum colour, eye injuries and sudden paralysis or profound weakness.
Difficulty breathing
Breathing problems can become life-threatening quickly.
Warning signs can include:
- obvious struggle to breathe;
- gasping;
- severe or unusual panting;
- markedly noisy breathing;
- blue, grey or purple gums in species where gum colour can be assessed;
- collapse associated with respiratory difficulty.
AAHA treats respiratory distress as an emergency requiring prompt veterinary attention.
Do not spend prolonged time trying to diagnose the cause at home.
Contact an emergency veterinary professional.
Unresponsiveness or collapse
If your pet:
- loses consciousness;
- collapses;
- appears profoundly weak;
- is unusually unresponsive;
- or suddenly becomes severely disoriented,
urgent veterinary assessment may be required.
AAHA lists unresponsiveness and sudden extreme weakness among potential emergencies because they may occur with serious conditions including shock, poisoning, neurological disease or other acute illness.
Seizures
A seizure can be frightening to witness.
During an active seizure:
- keep the area around the animal as safe as possible;
- avoid putting your hands near the mouth;
- do not attempt to place objects in the mouth;
- note approximately how long the episode lasts if you can do so safely.
AAHA advises contacting a veterinarian promptly after a seizure and treating seizure events as potentially urgent, particularly depending on duration, repetition and the animal's history.
If a seizure is prolonged, repeated or accompanied by failure to recover normally, treat the situation as an emergency.
Significant trauma
If your pet has:
- been hit by a vehicle;
- fallen from significant height;
- suffered a major bite;
- experienced crushing trauma;
- sustained a penetrating injury;
- or been involved in another substantial accident,
seek veterinary advice promptly.
An animal can appear relatively normal even when internal injuries are present.
AAHA therefore advises immediate veterinary assessment following significant trauma rather than relying only on outward appearance.
Severe or uncontrolled bleeding
Significant bleeding requires urgent veterinary attention.
During transport, a veterinary professional may advise you to apply appropriate pressure to an external wound, depending on the situation.
But emergency first aid should support transport to professional care—not become a substitute for it.
If bleeding is heavy, persistent or associated with trauma, collapse or weakness, contact an emergency veterinarian.
Repeated vomiting or severe diarrhoea
A single mild digestive episode is not automatically an emergency.
But repeated vomiting or significant diarrhoea—particularly when accompanied by:
- blood;
- weakness;
- pain;
- collapse;
- dehydration;
- abnormal behaviour;
- or inability to keep water down—
can require prompt veterinary care.
AAHA notes that ongoing vomiting or diarrhoea can lead to dehydration and weakness, with particular concern in young, elderly or otherwise vulnerable animals.
Species also matters.
Symptoms that may sometimes be monitored in one species can have very different significance in another.
Sudden abdominal swelling or bloating
A suddenly enlarged abdomen can be associated with serious emergencies.
AAHA highlights sudden abdominal swelling as a potential sign of problems such as gastric dilatation-volvulus, internal bleeding or other serious disease, particularly when combined with weakness, pale gums or unproductive retching.
Do not wait to see whether severe sudden bloating resolves on its own.
Contact an emergency veterinarian.
Sudden paralysis or inability to walk
Sudden:
- paralysis;
- major weakness;
- inability to stand;
- severe incoordination;
- or loss of normal limb function
can require urgent assessment.
AAHA classifies sudden paralysis and extreme weakness as time-sensitive signs because neurological, spinal and metabolic causes may require rapid intervention.
Eye injuries
Eye problems can sometimes deteriorate quickly.
Seek veterinary advice promptly for signs such as:
- obvious trauma;
- severe redness;
- swelling;
- bulging;
- visible foreign material;
- sudden inability to open the eye;
- marked squinting;
- or sudden visual impairment.
AAHA includes significant eye injury among conditions requiring urgent attention because delays can sometimes affect vision.
What should you do if you suspect poisoning?
Do not wait for severe symptoms to appear.
Some toxic substances can cause delayed effects.
ASPCA Poison Control advises guardians to remove the animal from further exposure, gather useful evidence such as packaging and contact a veterinarian or poison-control service promptly if poisoning is suspected. It specifically cautions against making treatment decisions based on internet advice before speaking to a veterinary professional.
If your pet is already:
- unconscious;
- having difficulty breathing;
- seizing;
- bleeding;
- or otherwise severely unwell,
seek emergency veterinary treatment immediately.
Do not automatically make your pet vomit
This deserves particular emphasis.
Do not induce vomiting simply because you think your pet swallowed something dangerous.
Whether vomiting is safe or appropriate depends on:
- what was swallowed;
- species;
- amount;
- time elapsed;
- current symptoms;
- and the animal's health.
In some situations, inducing vomiting can make the problem worse.
Contact a veterinarian or recognised animal poison service and follow their instructions.
What information should you gather after possible poisoning?
If it can be done safely, keep:
- product packaging;
- ingredient list;
- medication bottle;
- remaining tablets;
- approximate amount missing;
- time of exposure;
- photograph of the substance;
- and information about your pet's weight.
ASPCA specifically recommends preserving packaging or other evidence because it can help veterinary toxicology professionals assess what the animal may have been exposed to.
Do not delay emergency treatment in order to create the perfect evidence file.
Know the poison-control service that applies where you live
Poison services differ by country.
In the United States, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; a consultation fee may apply.
Elsewhere, contact your local veterinary practice or emergency veterinary provider to ask which veterinary poison-information service is appropriate in your region.
For a global platform like 1KAHU, emergency poison information should therefore be location-aware, not hard-coded around a single country's number.
Should you create a pet first-aid kit?
A basic kit can be useful.
But its purpose should be to support safe transport and veterinary guidance—not encourage guardians to treat serious conditions themselves.
Items may include practical materials such as:
- clean towels;
- gauze;
- basic bandaging materials;
- disposable gloves;
- spare leash;
- emergency contact card;
- pet carrier where appropriate;
- copies or access to emergency information.
What belongs in the kit depends on the species.
A horse emergency kit will look very different from one for a hamster.
Medication should only be included and used according to veterinary instruction.
Should you learn pet CPR?
Learning first aid from a qualified veterinary or recognised animal-first-aid provider can be useful.
But an emergency article should not replace proper hands-on training.
CPR technique varies according to:
- species;
- body size;
- anatomy;
- and clinical situation.
For that reason, 1KAHU should avoid positioning a short written guide as a substitute for proper training.
If you want to learn emergency first aid or CPR, ask your veterinary practice whether they recommend a recognised local course.
What about species other than dogs and cats?
Emergency signs and handling differ between species.
This is particularly important for 1KAHU.
Rabbits
Rabbits can deteriorate rapidly with some illnesses, and changes such as not eating, severe lethargy, difficulty breathing or significant gastrointestinal problems warrant prompt veterinary advice.
Because rabbits can hide illness, subtle changes may be important.
Contact a rabbit-experienced veterinarian if you are concerned.
Birds
Birds can also conceal illness until disease is advanced.
Severe breathing difficulty, collapse, major trauma, uncontrolled bleeding or profound weakness warrant urgent veterinary attention.
Keep the contact details for an avian-experienced veterinarian where possible.
Reptiles
Temperature, husbandry and species biology can significantly affect both illness and safe transportation.
If an exotic animal is critically unwell, ask a veterinarian experienced with the species for transport instructions rather than automatically using dog-and-cat emergency advice.
Horses
Emergency planning for horses often involves the veterinarian travelling to the animal rather than transporting the animal immediately to a clinic.
RCVS notes that home or site attendance is much more common for large-animal emergency care because transport may not be practical.
Your emergency plan should therefore include:
- equine veterinarian;
- yard/stable address;
- accurate location access;
- trailer/transport contact if needed;
- insurance details;
- and another responsible person who can assist.
What should a pet sitter know before you leave?
Before leaving your pet with another person, provide a concise emergency brief.
It should include:
Contacts
- Your number
- Secondary guardian
- Primary veterinarian
- Emergency veterinarian
Medical
- Current conditions
- Current medication
- Important adverse reactions
- Relevant recent treatment
Practical
- Carrier or leash location
- Emergency transport plan
- Insurance information if appropriate
- Where records can be accessed
Authority
- What to do if you cannot be reached
- Any arrangement made with your veterinary practice
This can be particularly important when travelling internationally or when the pet sitter will be responsible for several days.
What emergency information should be visible on your phone?
You do not necessarily need your pet's entire medical history available from the lock screen.
But you should be able to retrieve key information quickly.
A useful digital emergency card could contain:
PET
Marlene Dog · Female · 8 years Microchip: •••••1234
IMPORTANT HEALTH
Heart condition Adverse reaction: [Medication]
CURRENT MEDICATION
[Medication] — [dose] — [frequency]
VETERINARY CARE
Greenfield Veterinary Clinic +44 XXXX XXXXX
Emergency Hospital +44 XXXX XXXXX 18 Emergency Road, London
GUARDIAN
Matteo +44 XXXX XXXXX
BACKUP CONTACT
[Name] [Number]
Then provide access to deeper documentation if required.
This is much more useful in an emergency than forcing someone to search through dozens of files.
What should an emergency pet profile not contain?
Avoid turning it into an information dump.
Do not put every:
- vaccination;
- grooming visit;
- historical prescription;
- routine invoice;
- old minor illness;
- or unrelated note
on the first screen.
The purpose is triage of information.
The emergency profile should surface what can matter quickly.
Full records can remain one level deeper.
A good digital hierarchy for 1KAHU
For the product itself, I would structure emergency information as:
LEVEL 1 — Emergency Card
Visible immediately:
- identity;
- emergency veterinarian;
- guardian;
- current serious conditions;
- current medication;
- allergies/adverse reactions.
↓
LEVEL 2 — Critical Health Information
- recent surgery;
- specialist;
- current treatment plan;
- insurance;
- microchip;
- emergency documents.
↓
LEVEL 3 — Full Medical Wallet
- complete health timeline;
- historical diagnoses;
- tests;
- vaccination history;
- documents.
This protects one of 1KAHU's most important UX principles:
The more urgent the situation, the less searching the guardian should need to do.
Should an AI pet assistant decide whether something is an emergency?
It should not be positioned as a replacement for emergency veterinary triage.
AI can potentially help users:
- organise information;
- recognise that certain descriptions may warrant urgent professional attention;
- locate stored emergency contacts;
- prepare information to share;
- or guide them toward appropriate professional support.
But it should never create friction between a guardian and emergency care.
For example, if a guardian says:
“My dog has collapsed and is struggling to breathe.”
the product should not begin a long diagnostic questionnaire.
The appropriate interaction is closer to:
This may be an emergency. Contact an emergency veterinarian immediately.
Then surface:
- emergency provider;
- call button;
- directions;
- pet emergency card.
That is the safer product behaviour.
What should you do before travelling with your pet?
Emergency planning becomes even more important away from home.
Before departure:
- Find a veterinary practice near your destination.
- Identify the nearest appropriate emergency provider.
- Save the address and number.
- Check whether your pet's insurance applies.
- Keep medical history accessible.
- Bring required medication.
- Keep travel documents available.
- Understand relevant poison/emergency services for that country.
Do this before you travel.
Trying to research an unfamiliar veterinary system during an emergency adds avoidable delay.
Related guide: Travelling With Pets: The Complete Planning Guide
What information should you update after an emergency?
Once your pet is stable and home, add the episode to their health history.
Record:
- date;
- emergency provider;
- reason for visit;
- diagnosis or assessment;
- tests;
- treatment;
- medication changes;
- discharge instructions;
- follow-up requirements;
- and any relevant documents.
If the emergency revealed a new allergy, diagnosis or medication, also update the emergency profile itself.
The next emergency veterinarian should not have to rediscover the same history.
Pet emergency information checklist
Veterinary care
- Primary veterinary practice
- Primary vet phone number
- Emergency/out-of-hours provider
- Emergency number
- Emergency clinic address
- Relevant specialist
Pet identity
- Name
- Species
- Breed/type
- Age
- Photograph
- Microchip details
Health
- Current significant diagnoses
- Current medications
- Known allergies/adverse reactions
- Recent major treatment
- Relevant surgery history
Guardian information
- Primary guardian contact
- Secondary emergency contact
- Pet sitter/caregiver instructions
Administration
- Insurance company
- Policy number
- Relevant travel documentation
Logistics
- Carrier or safe restraint
- Transport plan
- Out-of-hours route
- Species-specific transport instructions if needed
Poisoning preparedness
- Local veterinary poison resource identified
- Emergency veterinary provider saved
- Household knows not to induce vomiting without professional guidance
Key facts
Emergency planning should happen before the emergency. RCVS advises guardians to understand out-of-hours care, save contact details, plan transport and keep important pet information available.
Not every veterinary practice provides emergency care in the same place. Your normal practice may use another hospital or provider after hours.
Some signs warrant urgent attention. Severe breathing difficulty, unresponsiveness, seizures, major trauma, significant bleeding, sudden abdominal swelling and sudden profound weakness are among recognised emergency warning signs.
Poisoning may be urgent even before symptoms appear. ASPCA advises contacting a veterinarian or poison-control service promptly after a suspected toxic exposure because some effects can be delayed.
Do not automatically induce vomiting after poisoning. Get professional instructions first.
Emergency information should be concise. Current medication, serious conditions and emergency contacts should be easier to find than historical routine records.
Different species need different emergency plans. A cat, rabbit, horse and reptile should not all be handled or transported in the same way.
Frequently asked questions
What emergency information should I keep for my pet?
Keep your pet's identification, primary and emergency veterinary contacts, current medication, significant medical conditions, allergies/adverse reactions, microchip information, guardian contacts and relevant insurance details easy to access.
How do I know which emergency vet to use?
Ask your normal veterinary practice which service provides out-of-hours care and save that provider's phone number and address before you need them. In the UK, RCVS specifically recommends doing this as part of emergency planning.
Should I call an emergency vet before travelling there?
Where possible, yes. Calling allows the veterinary team to assess urgency, give transport instructions and prepare for your arrival. If your pet is critically unwell, follow the emergency provider's instructions without delaying necessary care.
What symptoms mean my pet needs emergency care?
Potential emergency signs include severe breathing difficulty, unresponsiveness, significant trauma, seizures, substantial bleeding, sudden abdominal swelling and sudden paralysis or profound weakness. This is not an exhaustive list. Contact a veterinary professional if you are uncertain.
What should I do if my pet eats something poisonous?
Prevent further exposure if it is safe to do so, preserve packaging or information about the substance and contact a veterinarian or recognised animal poison service promptly. If your pet is unconscious, seizing, bleeding or having difficulty breathing, seek emergency veterinary care immediately.
Should I make my pet vomit after poisoning?
Not unless a veterinary professional or appropriate poison service specifically instructs you to do so. Whether vomiting is safe depends on the substance and the animal.
Should I keep my pet's entire medical record with me?
Keep the full record accessible, but create a shorter emergency summary containing the information that may matter most immediately.
What if someone else is looking after my pet?
Give them access to emergency contacts and important medical information and make sure they know what to do if they cannot reach you.
Should I keep insurance details in the emergency record?
Yes, where relevant. They can simplify administration, although insurance questions should not delay urgently needed veterinary assessment.
Does my exotic pet need a different emergency plan?
Often yes. Transport, temperature, handling and emergency providers may all differ by species. Identify a veterinarian with appropriate species expertise in advance.
Can an AI pet assistant tell me whether my pet needs emergency treatment?
AI can provide general information and help surface your emergency contacts, but it should not replace veterinary emergency assessment. If your pet is displaying a potentially life-threatening sign, contact an emergency veterinary professional directly.
The best emergency plan is the one you never have to search for
When your pet becomes suddenly ill, you should not need to remember where the information is.
You should already know:
Who to call.
Where to go.
How to get there.
And the veterinary team should be able to quickly understand:
Who your pet is.
What medical conditions matter.
What medication they take.
What happened recently.
Who normally cares for them.
Emergency preparation cannot make a frightening situation easy.
But it can make the next action clearer.
And when time matters, clarity matters too.
1KAHU
Important information. Ready when your pet needs it.
1KAHU is designed to help guardians keep each pet's health information, medications, veterinary professionals and important records connected within one profile.
For emergency situations, that information should not simply exist—it should be easy to surface quickly.
As the platform develops, the strongest implementation would be a dedicated Emergency Card available directly from each pet profile, giving guardians rapid access to:
Emergency Vet
Current Medication
Critical Conditions
Allergies & Adverse Reactions
Emergency Contacts
Directions to Care
For the AI Guardian, emergency-intent detection should prioritise escalation and professional contact rather than extended conversational diagnosis.
One Guardian. For All Pets.
1KAHU is a technology platform and is not a provider of veterinary or emergency healthcare. Academy and AI Guardian information is for general informational purposes and does not replace veterinary diagnosis, treatment, emergency triage or professional advice. If you believe your pet may be experiencing an emergency, contact an appropriate veterinary professional immediately.
